Thursday, August 6, 2015

Rude Kids: The Unfeasible Story of Viz by Chris Donald.

Rude
Kids: The Unfeasible Story of Viz by Chris Donald. Hardcover book
published by Harper Collins 2004, 378 pages with colour and black and
white photographs, one colour illustration and some black and white
illustrations. SIGNED COPY

“This
is the fascinating rag-mag-to-riches story of Viz, as told by its
creator Chris Donald, who started the magazine in 1979and remained its editor for
20 years. Chris tells how the tasty fanzine he threw together in his
Newcastle bedroom became one of the UK’s bestselling magazines. He
explains the origins of comic characters like Roger Mellie, Biffa
Bacon and the Fat Slags. As Viz flourished and those characters
became household names, Chris’s life changed dramatically. He was
invited to St James’s Palace for dinner by Prince Charles, and to
New Scotland Yard for questioning by the Anti-Terrorist Branch. He
wined and dined the lovely Catherine Zeta-Jones, played celebrity
football with, erm... Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards and caught his
wife up to no good with Keith Richards in Peter Cook’s attic. But
it’s not all celebrities, sex and drugs. Chris also gives a unique
insight into how Viz affected himself, his family and friends, and
tells of the fall-outs and controversy that came with the magazine’s
phenomenal success.”

...and
who hasn't had a chortle at Viz at some stage in their lives. I
mean, it's not the sort of thing one want's to read everyday or over
an extended period of time*, but you haven't lived unless you've read
at least one issue of Viz from cover to cover**. Fat Slags, Finbarr
Saunders and his double entendres, Johnny Fartpants etc,
hilarious... well... at least interesting and they are all part of
the phenomena which has something of a cult following here in
Australia, unlike in the UK where it is so much more than a quaint,
crude/rude, politically incorrect, offensive and out there magazine.

This
book was written by the founder of this phenomenon and very kindly he
even managed to scribble his name on it (...it's signed). To think
that a man who could dream up a character with oversized testicles,
has touched this book. Amazing. He mostly retired from the magazine
in 1999 which is not really that surprising... If you look up Viz on
line there have been many court cases and controversies over the
years and i'm sure that by the time anyone, in this case Chris
Donald, gets to the age of 39, fart jokes just aren't as funny as
they once were*. What I am most impressed about is that his wife was
“up to no good with Keith
Richards in Peter Cook’s attic.” Now
there's a story that's worth telling and I guess that's what Chris
has done in this book.

About Me

Huc & Gabet: Books of interest is a secondhand bookseller based in Clunes (Booktown), Victoria, Australia. These ramblings are intended as amusement and are based on the informed and ill informed (more of the ill informed, than the informed) opinions of the author. Anyone interested in purchasing books from me can check out my website. There is a link above.